My local buddies got hyped on Infinity recently, and I dove onto the hype train head-first.

Less recently, I was given the Military Order starter box for Panoceania years ago as a birthday present. It was partly a way for a friend to invite me into a game he really enjoyed, and partly his wanting to challenge me as a painter. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift that got put on a shelf for far too long, largely because I was too scared of the smaller, more detailed miniatures. (Turns out, they’re ridiculously fun to paint.)

When we decided to start learning the rules and playing semi-regularly late last year, I went whole-hog into the terrain. I immediately had a concept in mind for the table I wanted to build – I was (OK, still am) high on The Martian and all things space and Science-Fiction, and wanted to do a research station on an alien planet that had some military presence – maybe the research was Top Secret, maybe there are hostile aliens… Either way, I envisioned a desolate red planet (heavily inspired by Mars), with rock formations, high-tech science station buildings, and some accompanying military buildings and support systems (like a landing zone, construction equipment, radar antennae, etc).

As we were all surveying the available terrain options, I fell in love with Warsenal’s pieces. Warsenal is one of the premiere MDF terrain studios for Infinity terrain, boasting an official license from Corvus Belli – their terrain is in the pictures in the game’s rulebook. Warsenal’s Cosmica line is perfect for the science part of the expedition, and their Comanche pieces would contrast those nicely and function perfectly as the military outpost portion. Just like my wife and shoes, I seem to have expensive taste. Luckily, I planned on doing my rock formations out of dense pink foam, and I could save some money there.

Seriously, how cool does this stuff look?!?

I didn’t want this terrain to be slap-dash or done quickly. I wanted it to look good, and I wanted to spend my time on it and really make it look nice. The terrain pieces themselves are practically sculptures, and Infinity is a very cinematic game, so I felt like I could really let myself run wild on the terrain and go overboard – and that would be OK.

However, since this was my first encounter with masking and airbrushing MDF terrain, I started with the simplest and cheapest bits I had, some Comanche Mantlets. These are designed to go on walkways and other exposed areas to provide cover. They’re six parts each, and about $5 for the pair – perfect starter pieces.